“With pleasure.” Niall reeled his fist back and smashed his knuckles into Grant’s temple.
My hateful ex didn’t even flinch, just pivoted his head back onto its axis slowly.
Any last words?
Grant tipped me an unhinged smile. “I. Ruined. Her. First.”
My eyes blazed with tears I refused to shed.
Liam grew so terribly still that I half expected him to pounce on Grant and make this breath his last, but he kept himself in check.I was talking to Nikki.
I swallowed once. Twice. “No,” I whispered. “I have nothing left to say to him.” Liam had been right . . . my heartbeats had been wasted on Grant Hollis.
If only I could reclaim them all, erase every minute I’d spent loving someone so undeserving.
My throat swelled, then thinned as I turned toward Nolan, who was sitting on the blood-strewn snow, his forehead grooved in pain, surrounded by Doc, Adalyn, and my family. While Darren tended to Nolan’s mangled arm, Dad and Nate spoke to him softly.
Take the traitor to the bunker and lock him up.
I froze.
“What? You’re letting him live?” Niall sputtered, voicing my thoughts.
Camilla will come back for her brother.Liam’s wolf stood a full head taller than kneeling Grant, as imposing on four legs as on two.That’s what people who love each other do, right? They return for one another?He pivoted but twisted around to add,Make sure he can’t harm himself.
“You asshole! Using me to get to my sister is . . . is . . .”
“Ingenious?” Lucas supplied while he and Niall hoisted Grant to his feet none too gently.
“Cruel! Disgusting!”
Liam slanted his head to the side.Funny how our view on justice and cruelty differs, but I guess that’s why I’m Alpha and you’re . . .you.
Reese detached herself from the quiet crowd. “Go to your brother, Niall. I’ll take care of the traitor.”
“Nah. Not ready to say goodbye to this asshole just yet.” He looked at Liam and jerked his head in ascent. “Understood.”
As they hauled him off, Grant snarled, “What will you do with my father’s body?”
Feed it to the coyotes, burn it, spear it on the fence so Camilla can see what happens to traitors. The possibilities are truly endless.
“You fucking degen—”
Lucas jammed his fist into Grant’s jaw, which not only cut him off but knocked him out. His head lolled and jiggled as they shoved him into the trunk of Liam’s car. Niall climbed in beside him, then Reese jumped into the passenger seat, her wife in the backseat, and Lucas took the wheel. The crowd parted, lining up along the road. Their faces ran the gamut of shocked to saddened. I was glad to see that Mrs. Hollis had been escorted away, or maybe she’d gotten up and walked, realizing that her days of subservience to a belittling asshole were finally over.
Even though David Hollis had been somewhat popular, no one came forward to claim his body. Most people just turned away and headed to Pondside. He’d attacked our Alpha, so his death was understood, even if his life would be mourned more than Lori’s.
Lucas backed up the SUV, rolling over David’s body, not once, but twice. The crunch of bone and squish of flesh made me squeeze my lids shut and hold my breath.
The wind swirled around me, kicking up the ends of my hair and rattling the frostbitten trees separating the cabins. I raised my face, daring to breathe again. I regretted it immediately, because the reek of charred carrion smothered my lungs.
The blond, who resembled Matt, was holding a lighter against the tattered remains of clothing—David’s and Liam’s—which he’d lobbed over the fallen man.
Soft fur tickled my limp fist. I looked away from the funeral pyre and met a glowing amber gaze.The day I shred Grant’s body, I’ll make sure he understands what being ruined means.
Although I appreciated Liam’s desire to avenge my honor, the form of retribution was decidedly gruesome.
After addressing the pack and telling them to head to Pondside, he strode up to his front door and morphed back into skin.Besides a trickle of blood running the length of his neck, and the galaxy of old scars covering his back, his skin was unblemished.
